Administrators called in at Great Leighs

The future of Britain’s newest racetrack was in doubt after administrators were called in.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) said meetings had been abandoned at Great Leighs, in Essex, after an application to extend its temporary licence was rejected.

Last year, the track became the first to open in Britain since 1927.

Administrators Deloitte last night said it would be “assessing the position of the group in order to determine the best outcome for its creditors”.

“We will continue to work with existing management and key business partners to continue to trade the business in the short term,” Deloitte said.

“We are currently in discussions with the sport’s regulatory body, the BHA, in respect of securing the course’s racing licence and ability to continue to trade as a going concern while we investigate the opportunity of a sale.”

Earlier, track owner John Holmes confirmed an application for a renewed temporary licence had been turned down.

“We applied for an extension to cover the next two (January 22 and 29) but were told we had not supplied enough information,” he said.

“Because of the timing for entries, we have lost next Thursday’s fixture.

“We are back at the BHA on Monday with a view to resuming racing from January 29.”

A statement on www.britishhorseracing.com said the track’s temporary licence, issued on January 1, had expired on January 9.

It said an application for a renewal was declined at a hearing on Thursday.

“The effect is that, unless and until a new application is made and is successful, there is no licence in place for racing at Great Leighs,” the statement said.

“The Racing Department of the BHA are dealing with the fixture list and racing administration consequences of this.”

The track, on a 430-acre site on the former Essex showground, north of Chelmsford, Essex, was originally planned for a launch in October 2006.

But a series of hold-ups delayed the opening until April last year.